Southampton remain keen on signing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Delaney this summer, according to Sky Germany.
What's the latest transfer news on Delaney?
It was reported last month that the Saints were interested in bringing Delaney over to the Premier League, and they still want to tempt the 29-year-old to St Mary's.
It is understood that Dortmund want to offload Delaney, and the experienced holding midfielder dreams of playing in England's top-flight, which could help Southampton's cause in landing him in the coming months.
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What's been said about Delaney?
Delaney has not always been a consistent starter for Dortmund over the last 12 months as he was restricted to just 20 Bundesliga appearances in 2020/21.
However, he appears to still be highly thought of by the club, and at the start of the year he was praised by Dortmund's out-going manager Edin Terzic for his consistency on the pitch.
As reported by BVB Buzz, Terzic said: “Thomas Delaney always performs well, not just in the last two games. He is definitely a very important player who stabilises our defence and is always capable of destabilising our opponents. That is very important in this position. We are lucky to have a player like him in the squad.”
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How has Delaney performed at the Euros?
Delaney has become a central figure in Denmark's surprise push for European glory this summer. The tournament started in near-tragic fashion for the Danes when Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed on the pitch. The former Tottenham player is now recovering from this incident, but it unsurprisingly appeared to affect the rest of the team as they lost their opening two games.
They have bounced back brilliantly, though. Denmark breezed past Russia 4-1 on the final matchday of the group stages to book their place in the last 16, and they then went on to thrash Wales 4-0 on Saturday to earn a spot in the quarter-finals.
The 6 foot midfielder has started all four of Denmark's matches to date, and could have a key role to play for the rest of the championships if the team are going to have their fairytale ending and win the tournament for the first time since they upset the odds to triumph back in 1992.
Is Delaney's consistency just what Southampton need?
Definitely.
As a team, Southampton lacked consistency throughout the 2020/21 season. Having started off the campaign so well, when they briefly topped the division in November, they then fell away dramatically by losing 15 of their last 21 league fixtures.
Even in this run, though, they still picked up impressive draws against Chelsea and Leicester, showing that they could perform well at times, just nowhere near often enough.
They need someone who can bring some stability to the side, and that is what Delaney can offer. As Terzic mentions, Delaney "always plays well" and that has been on show at the Euros as he has hardly put a foot wrong for Denmark so far.
If Southampton can get him over to the South Coast this summer, Ralph Hasenhuttl will have a player that he has been crying out for over the past year - someone who can deliver solid performances every week.